Chapter 86 - Li Wen's Advice

"Shen Mian will be my temporary assistant until Go Bolin is back to health."

Andrea's face became expressionless. Instead of answering, she just stood up, went to get her laptop and settled on the sofa. She then opened her email and canceled the weekend reservation which she had planned for the both of them.

Her thoughts were getting ahead of herself, 'Are you another Gabriel? Are you going to betray me as he did? I don't want to be in that situation again.'

'Andy, secure your heart before it's too late! Lock it down!'

Lu Fang felt like being stabbed in the heart. 'What could be worse than getting a silent treatment?' He asked himself silently. The agony of not knowing was too much for him to bear.

He walked towards the sofa and hugged her from behind while his chin rested on her shoulder. He tried to study her face but there was nothing, absolutely no reaction. What he saw next made him apprehensive. In Andrea's inbox, he read:

Dear Ms. Li,

We are sorry to hear that you are canceling your reservation with us.

Please attach herewith the cancellation confirmation of your booking.

Sincerely,

Reethi Maldives (Andres Island)

"Babe, please listen to me."

"Last week, we received an invitation to present a proposal to Mr. Pie Wang, Global China's CEO. Almost immediately everything went wrong. You left and Go Bolin got into an accident. It was a total mess and just coincidentally, Mian's parents came with my dad apparently having discussed the possible collaboration with the Pie Family."

"Dad then came to decide that with Mian's connection with Mr. Pie Wang's son, we would have an advantage. Apparently, they knew each other. They immediately offered for Mian to be my temporary assistant. Dad was pleased and at that time, I could not deny the help being offered."

"Andy, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. My thoughts were all about you and going to Korea."

"The other day, I was contemplating a way to bail out without creating conflict with the Shens… I still have not come to a conclusion, but I promise, I will think of a solution."

Andrea closed her laptop after receiving the email and tried to get away from him but he held her even tighter. It was only then that she managed to speak, "You don't have to change anything for me. I understand the pressure you were in."

Although her words were meant to comfort the man, her face showed a different connotation.

"Let me fix this. Please, Andy. Let me prove to you that I can fix this." Lu Fang was now panicking. He had never seen this side of Andrea. She was completely indifferent.

"Let go of me. I need to call Li Wen and my brother. I will just be outside." She excused herself and went to find an empty room where she could just be on her own. There, she managed to let out her frustration to Li Wen.

Andrea was walking back and forth, grumbling to the person on the other line. "Tell me Wen, am I being unreasonable? What if this is another Gabriel? What if… If I get hurt again? Sis, Am I wrong to assume all this? Am I wrong to act this way?"

"Well… Happy Birthday to my little sister. It's nice to finally hear from you. Just because you found yourself a boyfriend doesn't mean you should forget your family." She heard her sister complain.

"I'm sorry, I got busy."

"Andy, first of all. Before we even begin to burn a calorie on this woman, may I ask, do you love the man?"

She was quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Yes. God, yes." She began to say with teary eyes. "What am I going to do, Wen? What if I lose him?"

"Good. Let's start then. Second, stop comparing him to Gabriel. He is different. It doesn't mean he will handle the situation similarly. Third, love is all about taking risks, acceptance and protecting it. You can never love someone and only expect the best out of them. We are only human and we all make mistakes. What if you are the one who made a mistake, Andy and immediately be given a cold treatment? How would you feel? "

"Fourth, not all exes are bad. However, if you think she has a different motive, then that is another story. My take is, you should show her who is better. Don't let her affect you, let you affect her instead."

"Fifth, talk to the man. Let him know how you feel. Let him know what you are truly afraid of so he will not make the same mistake again."

"Lastly, take control of the situation. You did not become my sister just to be stepped. Let yourself be known and stop hiding in the shadows!"

Andrea was taking it all in and thought about the last suggestion. "Reveal myself?"

"Don't worry about the revealing part, I'll create an opening for you. It's good that Lu Fang loves you for who you are Andy, not you being a Davies and not you being my sister. But, his parents may be looking down on you and I will not have that."

"What are you planning to do?" She asked her sister politely.

"You will find out soon, Andy. Now, go back in there and talk to him. I need to go. Mei-Mei is calling me."

When Andrea came back to the office, she found no one. She checked the private room and still, there were no signs of Lu Fang. 'Where could he be?'

She checked her phone and saw he had left 3 voice messages. The man had been trying to call her while she was on the phone with her sister. She stepped outside the office and there was absolutely no sign of any person on the same floor. When she checked the elevator, she saw the private lift was already on the 3rd floor. She immediately thought, 'Was he trying to leave me behind?'